Angevin Empire

The Angevin Empire (1154-1242) was the name given to England while under the rule of the House of Plantagenet. It was a personal union of the lands ruled by the Plantagenets, encompassing both England and the Duchy of Aquitaine, the Duchy of Normandy, and the Duchy of Brittany, three French fiefs that were acquired in William the Conqueror's unification of England and Normandy. It succeeded England, the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany, and the Duchy of Aquitaine, and preceded England and France.

History


The Angevin Empire began with the rule of Henry II of England, the first of the House of Plantagenet. His rule linked the Kingdom of England and its lands in Ireland to its lands in France that were acquired by the Duchy of Normandy, added to England by King William the Conqueror. The House of Anjou, a Frankish noble family, gave their origins to the Angevin Plantagenets of England.

There was no official capital of the empire, as London was solely the capital of England. Court was held in Angers and Chinon, and the English nobles spoke in French at court; many were descended from Normans. However, they were intense enemies of France, and campaigned for more lands in France every year. King John I of England campaigned in Normandy from 1204 to 1214, but these campaigns led to the disastrous Battle of Bouvines. An alliance of Imperial, English, Flemish, and Boulougnese troops under Otto VI of Germany were crushed by the French king Philip II Augustus, dividing the Angevin Empire in half. The battle of Bouvines marked the effective end of the empire, while in 1242, after the Saintonge War, King Henry III of England formally recognized the House of Capet's rule over Anjou and Normandy.